UC, CSU foundations remain obscure despite new law

SACRAMENTO, Calif.  Under a law that took effect last year, the public has the right to access the records of private foundations that are affiliated with University of California and California State University campuses and examine how they spend the hundreds of millions of dollars they raise.

Or at least that was the idea behind legislation Gov. Jerry Brown signed in 2011 that made the foundations subject to the California Public Records Act.

Supporters described the law as a win for open government, but trying to get useful information out of the foundations since it passed raises questions about whether their records are any more accessible than in the past.

The Associated Press sought to determine the law's effectiveness in providing the types of information routinely available through state and local agencies under California's open records law. It tested how the law was being applied at several foundations and sought feedback from the legislation's advocates and its author.

What emerged was a daunting and sometimes frustrating exercise to detail even the most basic aspects of foundation spending.

The law did not establish uniform reporting requirements for the dozens of university foundations at the state's four-year higher education systems, creating a patchwork of efforts to comply with its disclosure requirements. Even determining how to contact the foundations and ask for the information can be a challenge.

The sheer scope of the foundation system is another obstacle.

The 23 CSU system campuses have 89 auxiliaries and foundations that control $1.6 billion, according to the CSU chancellor's office. The 10 University of California campuses have one foundation each with a total of $5.9 billion in assets, according to the UC Office of Institutional Advancement.

Like similar organizations affiliated with colleges across the country, they raise private donations, often from alumni, and spend it to support various university functions. Some were formed to help students or campus projects, while others are used to operate food services or bookstores.

Some foundations also provide additional compensation for university presidents and top-level administrators, ranging from cash to kitchen remodels. While no taxpayer money is involved directly, the presidents and top officials at the universities are frequently listed as board members or president of the foundations.

The flow of private money through the state's higher education system has come under greater scrutiny because of ongoing tuition increases and faculty cutbacks at the institutions, which educate a combined total of 646,000 students.

No entity within the CSU or UC systems collects the foundations' financial information, but there are so many of them within the CSU that they formed their own group, the Auxiliary Organizations Association. The association did not return telephone messages seeking comment for this story.

The AP requested documents describing or authorizing any payments on behalf of campus presidents and the next two top officials from foundations at three California universities, San Diego State University, CSU Sacramento and the University of California, Davis. That included a request for information about payments made to or on behalf of their family members for "automobiles, housing, renovations, salary, bonuses, health care and education."